"The only time you will toss a coin to make a decision is marriage.. there is no past data" -My Statistics Professor ISB

Today was my last pre-term class and the end to an intense week.. yes i didn't have a weekend and that is quite hard for us aussies to swallow.. after years of bludging on the weekend my brain got a shock when it was asked to sit in 10 hours of lectures just over two days.. all in all i sat through 36 hours of lectures this week and many more hours of homework and club activities:) .. The maths class had a whole semester of maths crammed into 14 hours and then there was statistics and accounting.. Although i can't claim to have become an accountant , a statistician and least of all a mathematician I can now certainly claim to know just what i don't know about these subjects :) .. first step to knowledge i guess is knowing that you don't know .. I have to say it was totally worth it for me .. this preamble gives me an idea of the fun times ahead .. no i'm not sadistic and no i don't like to work on weekends .. so here is why i enjoyed it..

The amazing teachers .. all three of the teachers were inspiring .. they had the ability to keep us engaged and interested in subjects which would otherwise be painful to complete. They explained concepts with real world problems and they kept the humor going. I have been taught in different education systems and I would rate each of these teachers amongst the best.. each of them had different styles yet you could tell that they were here cause they loved to teach..

By the laws of probability if this is the sample set, and 3 out of the 3 were inspiring. The probability that the coming year is going to be a great learning experience is extremely high :)

Disorientated and ready to begin...

With orientation week over I can well and truly say that now I'm totally dis-orientated. The last week has been hectic, tiring, fun but most importantly essential is allowing most of us to shed the skin that we came in with. To put it more graphically we all got a smack on our backsides just like when a baby is born and most of us yelled in our own ways. It was time to get out of our comfort zone and start all over again..

Things i have learnt in the week gone by..
- There are just not enough hours in the day
- There are some amazing people that have achieved so much already and are headed for even greater things.
- Hyderabad is a Hot Hot place...
- This campus is confusing i still get lost and end up walking twice as much in the scorching heat..
- you have to be lost before you can be found ...

'O' -Week .. HO HO week!

Its 2:20 am (yes AM, not PM) and i've decided to write my first blog from student village 2 at the ISB. People on the outside might think its crazy (and i would have thought the same a week or so ago) but i know that come tomorrow i will probably not get any time during the day and will end up writing it at about the same time :) ..

Its 'O' week at ISB or for the less orientated its orientation week. Geez! what a week it has been so far .. even i'm lost for words to describe just how much i have learnt and seen in the last 4 days i have been here.. to put it in true bollywood speak it has been 'mind blowing' in every way. Here is some of the 'oh so fab' stuff that i have experienced in the last few days..

• First and foremost the amazing sense of community created by the Alums (class of 2008). Everyday i am amazed to see their genuine energy and enthusiasm to help us. They have put endless efforts into making 'o' week so much fun, so informative and just a total Blast!.. If sleep deprivation for a year makes people this positively charged up then we should all keep our lights on longer.
• The endless 'gyan' (advice/knowledge) sessions we have been getting. This evening a session for the consulting club was scheduled for 11:30 pm and close to 150 people attended. Sleep is not an option when so many interesting things are happening..and there is so much to learn.
• PARTEY!! PARTEY!! PARTEY!! is the mantra here.. after a full day of work parties start at 11pm .. its been 4 days and there have been 2 big parties already .. a flavour of what is to come :) .. can you see the pattern forming here, sleep is a distant memory.
• Pranks, the seniors have played a few pranks on us .. and these are pranks at a grand scale with 450 students.. as if we weren't feeling dumb enough, our egos have taken another battering.. and the cherry on the cake is the video footage that has been generated as part of these pranks.. its part of history now :)
• Meeting 1600 different people in 4 days.. that is meeting the same person 4 times without knowing that you have met them before .. feels like an endless loop at the moment :)
• Getting to know the amazing backgrounds that people have come from. Never met so many interesting people in one place ..
  

This post is about all the good stuff i have experienced during the past few days.. i will leave the cribbing for the many more posts to follow :)

When I came through the gates i knew it would be a hectic year ahead and had a few apprehensions .. some of these are still there but with every passing day they are fading away and being replaced excitement. Excitement for all the possibilities that lie ahead.... every possibility comes wrapped in apprehension... i hope to unwrap a lot of these presents this year ...

One sleep to go

Its 12:30 am and there is only one sleep to go before the beginning of a year at the ISB. Don't think i will get much sleep tonight. My head is working overtime with a million thoughts, all of which amount to nothing.. and my heart is racing through a multitude of emotions. I have known that the 12th is going to come along soon and now that it is only a few hours away it feels all to real. My eyes are feeling a bit moist, I'm missing my family tonight, they have always been my strength ..I'm sure they are thinking of me too.

I guess a bit of anxiety is normal, after all its my first day back at school. Seems like the calm before the storm ...

Hopefully my next post will be from my room in Student Village 2 .

Namaskaaram... from the city of Nizams

Namaskaaram (aka 'Hello' in Telegu) from the city of Nizams. Sorry guys its been a while .. was finding my feet (and a good internet connection) in hyderabad. Landed safely and soundly at the new hyderabad airport. Pretty nice airport although it looked a bit unused and unoiled at the moment.. as the luggage starting coming out my two pieces of luggage were the first to roll out i wasn't even ready with the trolley yet.. but i take it as a good omen as i have never been that lucky at the luggage carousels:) .. so far it has been an enjoyable stay ..here are some highlights.

• My cousin had a house party the first night i arrived.. cooked some good food and had lots of chit chat, so my first night in hyderabad was a party night, , what more can I say :)


• Hyderabad is much greener and cleaner than i had imagined. Love the trees that they have grown everywhere. Even the road dividers have huge trees and lush green grass.


• The weather (something that i was dreading) has been unusually cool here. It has rained the two days and there has been a cool breeze blowing. I have even seen lightening. Couldn't have asked for anything more :)


• Celebrated telegu new year 'Ugadi' on Monday. It certainly is going to be a 'new' year.


• Already got my hands on some authentic Andra food. Went to place called 'Chutneys' which is supposed to be quite famous. This is the thali that i ate there ;) .. hope to write a restaurant review soon. (I looked like such a silly tourist when i was taking photos of the food at this restaurant ;)



• I visited the ISB and SV2. The guards at the gate were very polite and let me go in to check it out. The place was deserted so had a bit of an eary feel to it. Think there was a bit of maintenance work going on .. getting ready for the class of 2009.
• Visited a supermarket here called 'Q' mart in Bangara hills. It had everything i get back home so i was really happy. Found all my favourite food including my favourite chocolates.. everytime i get home sick 'Q' mart it is..
• Drank fresh coconut water everyday ..

I'm sure this is just the begining of many adventures here in this city...

Fasten your seat belts ....

As I fasten my seat belt on the plane tomorrow it will feel more like fastening my belt on a roller coaster. My current emotions are very close to those just before a big roller coaster ride, when they lock the bars and fasten your belts, only this is ten fold of that feeling.Feeling excited and scared at the same time. There is just no looking back now. The adrenaline is starting to rush through the body and well the mind can no longer think straight .. I know i wanted to sit on this ride, now looking at the track ahead it seems pretty daunting. I couldn't get much sleep last night, don't know what time zone i'm operating on but its not an earthly time zone.

Today i decided to empty my piggy bank (which was full of change) and exchange it for chocolates to fill the last bit of space in my suitcase . I always knew i was saving that for a worthwhile cause and what better cause than chocolate. I picked up my favorite lindt dark chocolates, some gummi bears, cherry ripe and trolli lollies. SV2 block 'I' will be on a constant sugar high :)

Thanks to all my friends that have wished me good luck not just for the year ahead but also for the plane trip, some hoping that i get a cute co-passenger (it hasn't happened in the 100+ odd flights I've taken but if i keep flying the law of probability should be on my side ;)

I am going to miss home and everything about it but hope to make the most of this ride.

Fingers crossed, my next post will be from Hyderabad city!

3,2,1......blast off!

Three days to go now before I make the equator crossing. Seasons will change and so will the scene. Large part of my to-do list is over now, just picked up the dry cleaning from the shop. Spent today with my parents (both of them had the day off). We had lunch at our local Thai place. Still have to pack everything, my room looks like a mess with all the clothes and shoes and stuff. Have to make so many decisions as to what makes the cut for coming with me and what gets left behind. Just don't realize how much stuff we own until we decide to put it into a couple of suitcases. Sort of glad that there is a luggage restriction otherwise I would be carrying too much clutter with me.

The move seems real now after we have been allocated our quad numbers (our home for the next year) and everyone is eager to find out who they will be sharing the place with. TN is one of my flat buddies and I'm glad about that. I think my flat is going to be on the higher floor so the stairs should keep me fit (its going to be an excuse for not going to the gym).

Yesterday i finished trimming some of the hedges in my garden and since winter is on its way they should stay neat for the next few month. I'm really going to miss all my plants and hope to get picture updates from my family :)

Better head back to sorting and packing arghhh!!